Compelled
by xX-The-Mad-Man-With-A-Box-Xx
Summary: From a young age, Rayna knew her sister had a wild streak. It was Katerina after all. But how on earth could she have predicted the path that Katerina had dragged her down? Because of Katerina, Klaus killed her. Because Rayna loved her sister, Klaus made her lose her true love. So she ran. But when her best friend needs her help, she has to return to Mystic Falls, and Damon. VD AU
1. The Beginning of the End

**(AN - Enjoy :D) **

**(Disclaimer - Unfortunately I don't own the Vampire Diaries. Especially not Damon, which kinda sucks)**

* * *

><p>After all this was all over, Damon asked me about the first time I noticed my sister was evil. I replied that I didn't think she was evil, just a selfish bitch who didn't care about anything or anyone other than herself, even if it meant her family getting killed. That is where this story starts. Dear little Katerina getting herself in trouble, way over her head and picking the option that worked for her. And I suffered for it. But in a way I am grateful, if it wasn't for a train events that started when I was just nine years old, I would never have become the person I was to day. My name is Rayna Petrova, my life began with my death, and this is my story.<p>

**Chapter 1 – The Beginning of the End**

**_(Bulgaria, June 1st, 1484)_**

"Katerina! Katerina!" I giggled as I chased my 10 year old sister down the path. She was only a year older than me, but we could pass for twins. The only differences being our height and mannerisms. Already at this age she was showing disregard for authority and duty, where as I was the quiet, obedient daughter who preferred to sit in the window seat with her sewing. My body may have been in my sister's latest adventure, but my mind was elsewhere. "Katerina, Governess will get mad if we ruin our dresses again!"

"Who cares sister? She is a horrid old toad!" Katerina replied, hitching up her skirts to run faster, I copied her, attempting to keep up.

"She will tell Mama though, and we will be awful trouble."

"You need to stop being a chicken Rayna! She is too busy with the rat to worry about us anyway. We aren't the heirs to this estate after all." The rat was our not so nice nickname for our new baby brother, Aleksander. Mother was weak after his birth, and so was he. At the present time, it was all most of our household was focusing on. The great family of Petrova needed an heir after all; this made it easy for Katerina and me to escape the confines of the house and into the grounds. I followed my sister to the great old Oak tree that stood proudly at the edge of our grounds. Katerina climbed it quickly, looking back down at me expectantly. "You are so slow Rayna!"

"I am going as fast as I can!" I said, as I grabbed one of the lower branches and swung myself up. She never once helped me, instead she sat on one of the higher branches, looking down at the path on the other side of the wall. I joined her minutes later.

After a few minutes, two young sweethearts were making their way down the path. They were from the village and wearing peasant rags, but judging by the looks on their faces they were the richest people in the world. They were happy and in love. I marvelled with my 9 year old brain, wishing for something like that for myself one day. Katerina watched them as well and said

"One day Rayna, I will have hundreds and hundreds of men look at me in that same way, and they will all fight over me. You will see, dear sister, I will put brother against brother and they will fight to the death." She smiled. It was a cold and powerful smile, and I had no doubt that she would accomplish what she set out to do.

It was the first time in our childhood I was genuinely scared of my elder sister.

**_(September 3rd, 1489)_**

It was late afternoon, when my sister appeared in my room. She lay back on my bed and smiled dreamily.

"Sister" I greeted her, "I see you have had a good day."

She nodded.

"Fillip is such a gentleman; He is so kind and courteous and handsome." She sighed happily. Filip was the latest in a long line of sweethearts, but I had never before seen such a reaction from my sister.

"Father went mad; he didn't know where you had gone" I remarked, knowing she wasn't listening to a word I was saying.

"Do you think father would mind if we were to marry" She interrupted.

"He is the Baker's son Katerina; Father has far higher hopes for you. That is what this Ball is for after all. He is going to parade you in front of all the wealthy single gentlemen in the country."

"Maybe I don't want to do better" she sat up and pouted, I swatted her gently on the arm "Father wants to marry me off to some rich suitor as an alliance, I want to be able to choose my own husband"

"We all do, Katerina" I said, thinking back to the day with the tree, my first taste of what a real love could be like, I pushed those thoughts out of my mind. "But you know that is not what happens in families like ours. My dear friend, Ilina was married last week, and she has only just reached her 15th year, you are at your 16th, and you are not married yet"

"I know Rayna, but what if he marries me off to someone old guy who I hate?"

"Father wouldn't do that to you Katerina, Mother would not let him. Now you must hurry and get ready, the ball starts in two hours, and you are not even bathed yet!" I shooed her out of the door.

"Relax little sister, It is fashionable to be late after all." She winked and hurried across the corridor to her own chambers.

An hour into the ball, and Katerina had yet to show her face. I was shadowing Father as he introduced me to many important people, some who leered at me, some who ignored me. Then there were some who were sizing me up to see if I would be a good match to their son. It was the same old situation.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Katerina walk gracefully down the stairs and into the ballroom, she made her way through the crowd towards me.

I excused myself from my father's side and went to meet her in the crowd

"He's here" She said an excited gleam in her eyes

"Who?" I asked, there were many people here

"Fillip, of course, I am going to meet him in the grounds, near the old tree house!"

"But you can't just leave!" This was over the line, she knew, but I don't think she cared

"Cover for me, say I felt ill and stayed upstairs" she pleaded with please Rayna"

"Fine"

"I love you sister" She kissed my cheek before disappearing out through the glass doors.

"Love you too" I smiled at her retreating back, before turning my attention back to my Father, and the long line of people wanting me to dance.

**_(January 1st, 1490)_**

I was sat in the Library, reading next to the fire, when Katerina walked in. She was scared, an emotion I had never been able to read on her face before, and I knew her better than anyone.

"Sister?" I said looking at her concerned. She came and sat in the chair opposite me.

"I have to tell you something" she said, looking down at her hands.

"Then speak and I shall listen."

"You cannot tell anyone, not even Mother must know"

"As you wish," I looked at her confused.

"You must swear! On all that is holy" She implored.

"I swear, may God strike me down if I reveal this to anyone" I said immediately. I had never seen my sister so uneasy. She was always so sure of herself, so confident.

"I am with child" she blurted out. "I haven't bled for two months, and I have been sick constantly over the last month. "My eyes widened, and I froze in shock, staring at her. She was almost in tears. "Please, Rayna, I don't know what to do!"

"Who is the father?" I whispered

"Fillip,"

"But he left, on the night of the party"

"I know, he said it was a parting gift. He kissed me, and touched me in places I shouldn't speak about!"

"Katerina, you will not be able to keep this hidden. You will be cast out"

"I know, but for now" She sobbed, and came over to me. I hugged her "Please"

"I won't tell Katerina, you have my word."

Nothing would be the same again, how could it be.

**_(August 16th, 1490)_**

She was screaming. There was nothing I could do, except sit next to her on the bed and hold her.

It was time, my sister's judgement. Father was pacing outside. I was terrified, for my sister, for my niece or nephew. And there was nothing I could do.

And then the screaming ceased. The midwife took the baby and wrapped her in a cloth.

"It's a little girl" She said grimly, this wasn't a happy time. No one was smiling.

"Let me hold her" Katerina said, barely able to hold out her arms. But mother shook her head, and the baby was taken outside.

"No...NO! Let me have her! What are you doing! NO!" She tried to get up, but I held her back.

"No, there is nothing you can do Katerina" My sister struggled "Please Sister!"

Once the baby was out of sight, she slumped against me. I couldn't say anything, so I just held her as she cried herself to sleep.

The next day, Father came into the room. I hadn't left Katerina's side all night, and I was tired, having been kept awake with her nightmares.

"Please excuse us Rayna, I must talk to our little Minx" He said, his eyes cold.

My eyes widened, but I left the room and walked into my mother's arms sobbing.

"Mother, what will happen to her?"

"I don't know child, but there is nothing we can do now, she brought it upon herself" I nodded, and Mother held me, until my Father came out.

"She has until the end of the day, and then she will be gone" He said, blankly, his face betraying no emotion.

"What will happen to her?" I asked him

"I don't know" He said, pulling both me and my mother into his arms.

The Butler walked past then,

"My Lord? How is Lady Katerina?" He asked politely.

"Who?"

"Your daughter, M'lord." He looked confused.

"I only have one daughter, and her name is Rayna" was his reply.

_**(September 1st, 1492)**_

It is a sombre household without my sister. There is no laughter, no sounds barely. Mother won't stop crying. Father barely comes out of his study. They had had high hopes for Katerina, she was the 'pretty' one of our family, the one who would have made a good match with any high class suitor that came her way.

I still live, I get courted, I eat, drink, go through the motions of life, but I am no longer there, my thoughts are always with my beloved sister. I was constantly wondering whether she was still alive.

My family was entertaining guests that week, a man called Niklaus Mikaelson, and his brother Elijah. They were merchants, gentlemen from England. I had the feeling that father was trying to marry me off to them, but I acted in polite indifference.

After dinner was ended, I had taken a short walk in the gardens, before returning to the drawing room, where I believed the rest of my family had retired.

That was the moment I was going to die.

My mother's body lay strewn across the sofa, her breasts soaked in blood, her hair in disarray. Father was tossed onto the floor, well... His torso was. His head was impaled upon a spike, next to the fireplace. My younger brother's throat had been torn out, but that was all I could see of him, thank goodness.

I couldn't move, think or speak. I could barely muster up the courage to scream. Yet when I did, a cold hand shot over my mouth.

"Now, now, this can go quite quickly if you cooperate my dear, or it can be painful and drawn out." I struggled, shaking, trying to cry out. But all my efforts where in vain. "Where is Katerina?"

He realised his hold on my mouth, and clutched my neck so I could barely breathe.

"I don't know!" I managed to get out between gasps.

"I think you are lying."

"Why would I lie? I haven't seen her in two years." He moved in front of me, and I found myself staring into the eyes of one of our distinguished guests, Niklaus.

"She is telling the truth, Brother." another man said, outside of my field of vision. I assumed it was Elijah and I heard him walk up to us. "Kill her now, be done with this."

"She is pretty; It is such a shame we have to do this." The first man said, looking me up and down.

"I know, but think of what Katerina will say when she finds out her beloved sister has been killed like this. You know how much she talked about her." Elijah said, the first man smiled, gleefully.

"True." he grabbed the top of my head and pulled it roughly to one side. He then bent his head to my neck. I felt his lips touch my skin gently. Then pain. I felt the most awful pain imaginable and then all of a sudden felt nothing at all, as I slipped to the floor in the bliss of unconsciousness.

* * *

><p><strong>((AN - Virtual Cookies, Hugs and Kisses to Reviewers :))**


	2. Behind Death's Door

**(A/N This Chapter was a bitch to write, especially the last section. I'm still not completely happy with it, but enjoy :D) **

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 2 - Behind Death's Door<strong>

Death is a hard thing to imagine.

As I was growing up, I was taught to believe in God and the Bible. I was told that if I was a good girl, who obeyed her father and went to church on Sundays, I would be going to Heaven. My sister would be going to hell as she had a baby out of wedlock and had often missed church to fool around with the village boys.

Naturally, and arrogantly, I had assumed that I would have many long years ahead of me; I had thought that I was destined to marry some aristocrat and have a lot of children and spend the rest of my life with few friends, mainly the wives of my husband's business partners, whom I would visit occasionally and would live my life on the arm of my husband with smiles and waves and that would be it.

But instead of seeing God, Saint Peter and the Heavenly gates as I awoke. I saw the face of someone I would begin to associate with the devil himself, Niklaus Mikaelson. He was cradling my body as he finished his drink, taking care to make as much mess as possible. So I did the only thing that I could think of to do in that situation.

I screamed.

Niklaus and Elijah jumped back in surprise, Niklaus dropped me and they both rushed back, speaking in hushed tones, most of which was in a language I did not understand.

"A ghost?" Niklaus murmured.

"A ghost, this side of the vale." Elijah replied, and turned to look at me sadly. He walked over and held out his hand. I attempted to reach and take it but my hand slipped straight through his as if it was made of air. "Don't worry" he said, "It takes practice." I reached out again and took his hand firmly this time. He pulled me up so I was half standing, half leaning on him and he had one hand on the small of my back supporting me. I glanced at my own hands, they were slightly blood stained and flickering between being solid and being translucent. I twisted, despite Elijah's warnings and took in the sight before me.

My own body lay on the floor. Blood covered my neck and wrists and was pooling on the floor. My hair was tangled, my favourite dusty pink dress was torn, and the skirt especially was hanging in shreds. I let my hands wander over my own body, feeling my hair, the ugly teeth marks and the blood, and the fabric of my ripped clothing. They were cold to the touch.  
>I froze.<p>

"So I'm dead?" I whispered, more to myself than anyone.

"Yes," Elijah replied.

"Oh, let's just go Eli. She doesn't matter." Niklaus interrupted. He looked bored and there was no sense of agitation or worry in his hard eyes.

"You know what happens Nik, there are rules." He replied, Niklaus swore, I stayed silent. "If a person takes away an innocent life, they form a bond that cannot be broken by any means other than a new bond between the innocent and soul mate" He quoted.

"So until this girl finds her soul mate, she is going to follow me around like a lost puppy?" Niklaus scowled at me and I flinched.

"Now, Nik, it is hardly her fault." I felt Elijah's grip on me tighten slightly. "There is nothing you or anyone else can do about it"

"Ah, Eli, you are far too noble for your own good sometimes" He said, and without another word, turned and walked over of the room. Immediately I felt the urge to follow him. A dull ache in the bottom of my chest that grew and grew as Niklaus walked out of the house completely. Elijah guided me to follow him, out of the door, out of the house, to where a horse and carriage were waiting. I tried to focus on not flickering, as it was making it hard to move properly. It was dark, I kept my head down. He helped me into the carriage, sitting me down next to him. Niklaus was opposite.

And only then did I let myself break down and mourn the deaths of my family.

* * *

><p>Elijah held me as I cried then, and indeed for the most of the night. When I managed to collect myself, he looked me in the eyes and said.<p>

"Death is a part of who you are now; you need never to cry over it again."

He then went on to tell me a story. He told me of Vampires, Witches, Werewolves and Doppelgangers. Of how ghosts are innocents who had been murdered and of how we were trapped in the middle of a vale that allowed us to see the dead as well as the living and appear in both worlds. He told me of how I was now connected to Niklaus, I wouldn't be able to be parted from him until I met my soul mate, and this could be anyone: A sibling, friend or lover. No one I knew now or I wouldn't be with them now. He told me of how he met and loved my sister in England, but Niklaus needed her to break a curse placed on him. This involved sacrificing her in a ritual, but Katerina managed to get the better of them and when a vampire healed her using their blood, she completed the transformation into a vampire herself. Now Niklaus was out for revenge on her, for ruining his plans. The deaths of my parents, brother, and especially me, were a message to Katerina, one that she wasn't likely to miss or forget.

* * *

><p>That was the start of an amazing friendship between Elijah and me, one that lasted for centuries. It was hard to get over the fact that I was tied to the man who murdered my family, but as it felt like I was dying all over again whenever I was more than 10 feet away from Niklaus, I managed to reign in the burning hatred I had for the both of them, and after about a decade I decided that it would be better to just get over it, seeing as I was going to be stuck with them for the foreseeable future.<p>

For the first few years Elijah helped me to get control of my powers. I could be solid one moment, then air the next, visible to the humans then drifting on the other side. Moonlight was my biggest weakness, no one really knew why, but if I was in direct moonlight I would appear in my true form. Elijah thought it was similar to vampires and the sun, only I was already dead and incapable of feeling pain physically. Something we discovered, quite by accident, was that I couldn't switch forms if I was being touched by a vampire, or, as we later discovered, any other supernatural creature. Klaus thought it was incredibly useful as a test for witches and werewolves.

I went places I never thought I would go, met people I didn't even know I existed. Usually being introduced to them as the youngest Mikaelson sister, or if Klaus was in a bad mood, I would be dressed as Rebekah's maid. Rebekah and I were friends by default pretty much. She never had any proper female company, from Klaus deciding that no one was good enough for his little sister. She confided in me, and I in her.

I travelled to the new world, America. I was there when they founded the city of New Orleans. I stood 3 steps behind Klaus as he declared himself King of the Vampires there. I saw many deaths, many of them innocents, many of them deserved it. As Elijah said, death eventually becomes a part of you. I remembered my first kill; I reached into someone's chest and pulled out their heart before they could kill a child. I could never let anyone become like me, and at that point, as I pulled his life from his body, I knew how far I would go to keep innocent people alive.

Klaus never gave up looking for my sister, but Katerina was always one step ahead of him. I was never destined to find her in those years. But I liked the stories, Klaus compelled and tortured his way through information and I would listen. I found out that my sister changed her name once we had come to America. Katherine Pierce. So I copied her, Rhea Pierce. The name that followed me through the rest of my afterlife. It felt good, free.

And it was the name I used to introduce myself to the man who changed my life forever. Because one day Klaus and I were travelling by train and we happened to go past a small town named Mystic Falls. Klaus was mad and threw me out of the train, believing I would snap back to the Carriage within seconds. But as I tumbled down the hill, attempting to regain control over my body, something snapped. There was no longer the pain as a young dark haired man stood over me and carried me to his horse.

And of course that man was one Damon Salvatore.

* * *

><p><strong>(AN - The next chapter is Damon's POV :D Reviewers get Ice Cream ^^) **


	3. Beautiful Mystery

**Chapter 3 – Beautiful Mystery**

* * *

><p><strong>Damon's POV<strong>

**_(August 15_****_th_****_, 1861)_**

She was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen.

I had been out on a ride that morning, on my favourite route that just so happened to pass by the new train line that passed by the edge of the town. I watched as a train came to an abrupt halt, a door was flung open, and someone was thrown and began to fall down the hill.

Immediately instinct kicked in, I pushed my horse into a gallop and there I saw her. She lay in bushes, her chest barely rising and falling. She was pale, her skin appearing to be translucent next to the dark curls that messily surrounded her face and spilled over her shoulders.

And she was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen.

I walked over to her. She didn't respond as I slipped one hand under her head and turned her slightly to loosen the bodice of her dress. I then lifted her gently and carried her to my horse. I placed her into the saddle and swung myself up behind her. I urged the horse forward riding back to our manor house as fast as I dared.

As I entered the courtyard, I called desperately for help. A couple of groomsmen helped me to carry the girl into the house and into one of the spare bedrooms. My younger brother, Stefan and my father both came up the stairs to investigate the commotion. We stood at the girl's bedside, waiting as someone went to fetch the Doctor.

"Who do you think she is?" Stefan said quietly. My brother was young lad of 14. He was gangly, as most boys are at that age, with arms and legs out of proportion to his torso, and a mop of unruly brown hair. He seemed excited to see the girl, of course, he was too shy and naïve to have ever been as close to a woman as he was today. Especially not one of her beauty, the women of Mystic Falls just didn't seem to compare.

"I don't know, someone important maybe, judging by the clothes." I shrugged, not taking my eyes off the unconscious figure.

Father didn't say anything, but he peeled away some of the torn material at the girl's neck. He frowned.

"Stefan, go and fetch Mr Gilbert."

"Father?" Stefan looked at me confused, I shrugged.

"Now."

"Yes Sir." He scurried out of the room. I thought about it for a second, Mr Gilbert was a weird man. He was no doctor, no one who would be of use. However Father, his mouth set in a thin line, seemed adamant that it was Mr Gilbert that he required. The room fell into silence as I looked at the girl. I wondered who she was, someone rich judging by the clothes. Maybe she was an ambassador's daughter or someone else important. I hoped we would find out soon.

As Mr Gilbert, the Doctor and Stefan walked into the room, my father shot me a look which I took as my cue to leave. I pulled my brother out behind me and closed the door. Stefan grumbled slightly, but I nudged him gently, reminded him that we would just be in the way in there. I did, however, make a mental note to ask father about Mr Gilbert later, as far as I knew there was no reason he should be there.

Stefan sighed and grabbed the ball from where it sat on the landing.

"Come brother, you look like you could use a distraction." He grinned and we raced down the stairs and out of the room. Being 4 years older than my brother, and better looking, broader shoulders and being practically exceeding him in every way, shape and form, I could easily beat my brother's ass down to the ground whenever we played ball. It didn't stop him putting his all into every game though, and the determined look on his face as we went out to the grounds made me have an ounce of sympathy for him. Maybe today I would go easy on him.

As it happened, I accidently on purposed tripped him up and made him fall flat on his face. He looked up and scowled at me. Being the ever loving older brother, I laughed, grabbed the ball and walked on ahead of him. He stood slowly and ran at me, tackling me to the ground. I flipped him over and pushed him down, he squirmed as I kept on laughing at him.

"Okay, okay," Stefan mumbled breathlessly, "I give!"

I jumped up and held out my hand to pull him up with me. As I stood, I caught sight of movement in one of the upstairs windows. The girl was stood there watching what was happening. She still looked pale, but I was glad to see her smile down at the two of us. I held up my hand in greeting, she waved back and then drew the curtains to her room. I smiled at the window, until Stefan nudged me hard. I rolled my eyes at him, grabbed his collar and dragged him to the fields.

* * *

><p>After our game, I had gone upstairs to change out of my now muddy clothing. I heard the bell ring for dinner and was about to go down the stairs when I noticed the door to the girls room was slightly opened. Propriety and appropriateness be damned, I shook my head and walked over to the door. I stuck my head into the room. The girl was sat up in bed, her dinner almost untouched on a tray in front of her. Her hair was fanned on the many pillows supporting her slim, petite frame. She looked up at me and smiled.<p>

"Should you really be entering a lady's room without permission good sir?" she said, humour sparking in her eyes.

"That depends. I do not usually see many ladies falling out of trains and into bushes."

"Oh," she replied and patted the bed. "You must be my knight in shining armour, come sit." I nodded and walked into the room, she had no qualms about a strange man being in the room whilst she was in bed and in a night dress. "Now you have rescued the fair maiden, are we to live happily ever after?"

"Maybe I should learn the fair maiden's name before I make lifelong commitments?" I raised my eyebrow and perched on the edge of the bed.

"Ah, wise and handsome," she giggled slightly. "My name is Rhea Pierce."

"Damon Salvatore." I took her hand and kissed it gently, "Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss Pierce."

"Please, call me Rhea. My surname is reserved for strangers and enemies."

"Now, someone as pretty and as sweet as you has enemies! I find that hard to believe."

"Oh you would be surprised." She rolled her eyes. I smiled. Rhea poked about with her food a bit and sighed.

"Forgive me for intruding, but how did you come to be falling out of a train?" I asked curiously. She scowled, presumably at the memory.

"That's…" The dinner bell rang again, interrupting her. Rhea smiled and ran one hand through her hair. "A story for another day." I nodded and took my cue to leave. I stood up, smoothed down my clothes and bowed slightly.

"'Till the morrow then my lady?"

"Till the morrow, good sir." She grinned at me, her chocolate coloured eyes sparkling. I left the room quietly, closing the door behind me. The smile never leaving my face.

* * *

><p><strong><em>(August 16<em>****_th_****_ 1861)_**

I awoke the next morning and splashed my face with water. There was only one thought on my mind. Miss Rhea Pierce. I quickly hurried down the stairs to the breakfast table. Rhea was sat at the table, she still looked pale, but her eyes were sparkling with life. As she had had no clothes with her, the maids had dressed her in an old dress of my mothers. A light blue gown, with lace around the neck. She looked beautiful.

Father was also looking fondly at our guest as they chattered away about the morning paper.

"Good Morning Father, Miss Pierce," I said, as I took my seat opposite Rhea.

"I told you, Sir," Rhea said, tossing her dark brown curls over her shoulder. "Please call me Rhea, I do hate formalities like that." She smiled brightly. I nodded.

"Of course Rhea, and where is Stefan on this fine morning?" I said looking towards my father.

"He ate early and went out for ride," Father said,

"Oh, okay," I smiled, catching Rhea's gaze and grinning at her.

"So," my father said, raising an eyebrow at me. I barely noticed. "Later I am riding into town to see Pearl at the apothecary, then heading Jonathon Gilbert's house for the afternoon. So I expect I will not be seeing you both until Dinner this evening? Please take care of our new guest Damon."

I nodded,

"Of course. I believe the plan is a tour of the gardens?"

"That was the plan." I looked at Rhea again, "If m'lady would do me the pleasure of accompanying me?"

"I will look forward to it." She giggled softly. "Now, if you gentlemen would excuse me?" she stood up and looked at my father who nodded once. Rhea the left the room gracefully.

"Son, what do you think of her?" Father said, slightly amused.

"She is very nice, beautiful," I replied.

"Intelligent as well, she managed to carry on a discussion on the financial market just fine. I have never met a girl her age who has any knowledge of it at all, let alone is actually interested." I nodded. It seemed that the more I knew about the girl, the more questions I had. I was intrigued by her. "I believe she will be staying her for the foreseeable future. She hasn't got anywhere else to go, or any family."

"What is her story?" I asked.

"I believe that is for her to tell you." Father stood and left the table, leaving me to my thoughts and to finish breakfast alone.

Just under an hour later, I met Rhea outside the door. Unlike most women, she wasn't wearing a hat, letting her hair hang in loose waves down her back. She smiled as she walked over to her.

"Ah, my knight in shining armour," she said, taking the arm I held out to her. I noticed then how small she was. She barely came up to my shoulder, and her hand was almost lost in my arm.

"And there is my Damsel in distress," I grinned back at her.

"Are we to live happily ever after now?" she repeated her question from yesterday, a giggle escaping her lips.

"There is no such thing as a happily ever after," I said solemnly, "That only happens in bedtime stories for little children."

"I don't suppose you believe in true love either then?" She asked curiously. "That is sad Mr Salvatore. There is a whole world out there that you have no idea about."

I questioned her on that topic for a few minutes, but she refused to say anything else on the topic. Eventually I gave up, and we walked the next few paces in silence.

"Tell me about yourself Damon," she said, as we reached the beginning of the wood. I shrugged slightly,

"There isn't much to tell. My name is Damon Salvatore, I'm 18 years old, and I live with my Father and brother in Mystic Falls. Stefan is 14 and a pain in the backside, but aren't all siblings?" She chuckled slightly, and nodded.

"Some more than others."

I nodded.

"He's alright, really."

"No mother?" Rhea asked. I felt my face fall slightly, and turned to look at the path in front of us.

"She died… about 11 years ago, with a fever." She rubbed my arm gently in comfort.

"I'm sorry." She said, because what else are you to say when told of someone's death.

"Tell me about yourself." I said, looking at her once more, meeting her gaze. The spring flowers shone in the mid-morning sun.

"Well," she began, "I was born in Bulgaria."

"So you are a long way from home then." I mused.

"It is not my home anymore, my parent's died. I came here with my…" Rhea paused for a second, frowning. Her eyes shone with unshed tears. "A friend I guess. His brother didn't like me at all, so he pushed me out of the train."

"I'm sorry," I said, because what else is there to say. I had never seen a face more beautiful, yet it was filled with such sadness for a fleeting moment.

"Now is not the time to think of such things Damon."

I nodded and we continued our walk.

We talked about many things; we had the same taste in books and in music. She loved solitude, saying that Niklaus, her friend's brother, would hardly leave her alone for a second. She missed her sister, Katherine, who had run off after the boat had landed, for she was fearful of Niklaus.

I told her about growing up in Mystic Falls. How Stefan and I had grown up supporting each other, even when our father had been wrecked with grief, and drinking. How I had never even had a sweetheart properly, other than the time when I was nine, and a girl named Samantha had forced me into pretending for a week. At this, Rhea had laughed and said

"Well, she was a very lucky girl." And then laughed even more when I blushed slightly.

I realised that the only other time I had been this comfortable with anyone, was with my brother. But there was something more to this than a sibling relationship. This was much more intimate.

Without noticing, we had managed to walk all the way through the wood to the stream. Rhea's eyes lit up as she saw it.

"Isn't it beautiful?" she said, bending down and letting the water run through her fingers.

I murmured my agreement. I had been here a hundred times before, but this was the first time I thought this spot had been truly beautiful. Probably the company I was keeping.

I pointed upstream,

"If you believe this is beautiful, I will have to take you to the falls tomorrow. They are just magical."

Rhea nodded in excitement.

"But for now, Come and sit with me," she said whilst kneeling on the bank of the river, I sat next to her. "Look." Her hands were cupped, and she opened the top slightly to show me.

"What is it?" I placed my hands around hers.

"A frog, just a small one, isn't it cute?" I peered between her hands.

"If you say so," I said smiling. Rhea let it go and we watched it disappear into the pond

"They are like ghosts; easily blending in with their surroundings," she said softly.

"Yeah, if ghosts existed," I shrugged

"How do you know if they do or not?" She raised an eyebrow at me. I scoffed

"Oh come off it, they're just tales to scare young kids…"

"That's all you know, there is a whole world outside Damon, that you have no idea about."

"You aren't telling me...you believe in all that? You sound as mental as Jonathon Gilbert; he always goes on about vampires."

Rhea smiled, her expression amused.

"You need to keep an open mind Damon, who knows what monsters could be hiding under the bed. As for now, I believe our conversation has drawn to an end."

"Huh?"

"Your brother is coming"

She was right. A few seconds later, Stefan came running through the trees, out of breath

"Look…ing...for...you...dinner," he said, bending over and breathing hard.

"Deep breaths Brother, is it dinner time?"

Stefan nodded.

"Well!" I turned to Rhea, who had stood up, and offered her my arm. "My lady, would you do me the pleasure of accompanying me back to the house?"

"I would love to kind sir." She took my arm, smiling, and we began to walk back in the direction of the house.

"So you are just going to leave me here?" Stefan said, pouting slightly

"Well, Brother, you know the way back to the house, where as I am obliged to show Miss Pierce, as she is our guest."

Stefan scowled and stomped off ahead of us. Rhea started giggling.

"That was a little harsh, wasn't it?"

"Serves him right for interrupting us," I said, indignantly, and we both walked back to the house, laughing at poor Stefan's expense.

* * *

><p><strong>(AN – Longest chapter yet! Reviewers get cookies and icecream ^^) <strong>


	4. The Freedom of Death

**Chapter 4 – The Freedom of Death**

* * *

><p><strong>Rhea's POV<strong>

**_(September 1_****_st_****_, 1861)_**

It seemed that I could go anywhere and do anything, and indeed, I had experienced most of the pleasures that the modern world had to offer, courtesy of Klaus and the other original vampires, but I would always end up back here. In a cemetery, surrounded by gravestones. There was a horrible cycle to life that was common to all, upper class and poor. You were born, you grew up, and you built as much money as you could, married, had children, attended parties, danced and then died. I found it funny how the witches, the very people here to protect this cycle from unnatural beings and ensure its continuation, where the very beings who created us all in the first place.

I remember watching my own funeral, Klaus had wanted to stay in Bulgaria to see Katherine's reaction to us. Klaus had apparently not only killed my immediate family, but also everyone else on the estate at the time, and by the time our bodies were found, the blood was crusted and it looked worse that scene's described in horror novels, the ones described to be too terrible for women to read at the time.

I begged Elijah to make Klaus take me, he relented eventually giving me the chance to morn my parents and brother. It was a big turnout. My mother was well liked in the village, judging by the amount of Snowdrops and other simple flowers that littered her coffin. Mine was similar, was glad I took after her. Katerina also came to the funeral, I saw her standing the back of the crowd in black. When everyone was gone, she flung herself against the crypt's gate, sobbing and pounding on it. I had watched from a distance, unable to leave Klaus as he gleefully walked away. When I asked why he didn't just kill her now, he replied that the wanted to see her suffer first.

I sat down on the grass next to one of the graves. Damon had gone out with his father this morning, and as much as Stefan had wanted to accompany me, I had declined his offer as I wanted to spend some time alone.

Alone was peaceful and gave me to think through the events of the last week. I had been on the train with Elijah, Klaus and Rebekah, when Klaus got mad and through me out of the door to the train, expecting me to reappear next to him within a few seconds. But before I could even process what had happened, a pair of strong arms lifted me and I felt the shackles that had bound me to Klaus fall away.

_I was free._

My tall, dark and handsome saviour had brought me here, to his home. A new imprisonment where no one could know about my condition, but now I had no desire to leave

The story I had told had been a revised version of the truth. Mr Salvatore, and the other man, Jonathan Gilbert, were suspicious that there was more to my tale. They had been very interested in Klaus' mark on my neck, but knowing that I was orphaned, and probably didn't know myself what had happened to me, they had kept their suspicions to whispers whilst in my room. Mr Salvatore had then generously offered me a place to stay, an offer I gladly accepted.

The next day had been amazing. Over breakfast, Mr Salvatore told me about Mystic Falls and the founding families. I then spent the entire day wandering in the grounds with Damon before returning for dinner. In the evening, I sat by the fire in the drawing room, as Stefan and Damon tried to scare me with the local myths. According to legend, the Founder's Council had been assembled to protect the town from evil dark creatures of the night, who feasted on young maiden's blood. I laughed and acted scared in the right places, choosing not to dwell on the fact that my escape from Klaus may just be the fire to his frying pan. If there were Vampire's in Mystic Falls, I presumed I would discover them eventually. Supernatural beings seemed to have this attraction to other and to trouble it seemed.

Elijah said that I would be tied to Klaus until the day I met my Soulmate. He said that this could be anyone, a sibling, friend or lover. My connection to Klaus disappeared the minute I met Damon for the first time. He was my soulmate, the only question that remained unanswered was if he wanted to be mine.

A startled "Oh..." and a gasp brought me out of my thoughts. I turned my head and saw Damon standing there, holding a small arrangement of flowers. He ran his hand through his hair and smiled slightly at me.

"I didn't expect to see anyone here."

"I can leave," I said, hurriedly standing and smoothing down my dress.

"No… don't leave, I just wanted to lay these on my mother's grave." He gestured to a headstone near to where we stood. I nodded and took a couple of steps away.

"Still, you should have privacy as you do this." He nodded and I turned my head away, not wanting to intrude on such an intimate moment.

After a few minutes he came and stood next to me, his eyes glittered with unshed tears. I lay my hand gently on his arm.

"Are you alright?"

He nodded.

"I…I just wish she was here." Damon's eyes locked with mine, with one glance I could see the hurt and sadness that haunted him, and he could see the emptiness in my own expression. We both knew the other understood. I nodded and patted his arm. He attempted a smile and pulled my hand through his arm. "On to happier topics though." He said, leading me out of the cemetery, "the Founder's Day Ball is on the 21st I and l was wondering if you would do me the honour of accompanying me?"

Immediately panic swept my mind. Would it go on late? Ball's usually did. I couldn't let myself be seen in the moonlight. They would cast me out and exorcise me if they knew I was really a ghost.

"You don't have to…" Damon said quickly, spots of pink appearing on his cheeks.

"No! I want to go… With you…" I stammered before l could stop myself, "I just don't have anything to wear!" He chuckled lightly.

"That doesn't matter. You can borrow another of Mother's dresses."

"These dresses are your mother's? Oh, l am so sorry! They have just been laid out for me. I didn't think to ask about them." I looked down awkwardly, mentally kicking myself for not thinking about the dresses before. Damon tilted my chin up with one finger.

"Don't be sorry. You look beautiful in them, and I am sure Mother would be thrilled to see them used again, especially by a fine young lady such as yourself." I smiled brightly up at him.

"Thank You" I said sincerely and we walked back to the main house arm in arm.

* * *

><p><strong><em>(September 10<em>****_th_****_, 1861)_**

Five days from this date marked one month of freedom, and I couldn't have been happier. I was part of this family, and for the first time in forever, I felt loved and wanted by those around me. Today though, I accompanied Mr Salvatore and Stefan into town. My benefactor insisted that I should have clothes l could call my own, and that they would be a gift from him to me. I have tried to insist that he had done far too much for me already bet he said that it was non-negotiable, and that he wouldn't take no for an answer.

Mr Salvatore instructed the coach driver to drop him off at the apothecary, and to take Stefan and me onto the dress shop and Tailor's and that he would join us later on at the restaurant for Lunch. He gave strict instructions that I was allowed whatever I wanted within reason, whilst Stefan was allowed a new tuxedo for the Founder's Ball, and nothing else; something he grumbled about for most of the journey.

Once we arrived, Stefan tried to be clever by jumping straight from the carriage to the ground, only to trip and fall flat on his face. I hid my giggles behind my hand as he scrambled back to his feet and held out his hand to me. I took it, and climbed out of the carriage, linking my arm through his as we walked to the tailors.

"Um… Rhea?" he asked, fumbling with his fingers nervously.

"Yes Stefan?" I replied smiling sweetly at him.

"Would you..? You know." Stefan blushed slightly. The tips of his ears turning scarlet.

"Know what dear?"

"Accompany me to the Founder's Celebration?" he mumbled quickly. I quickly looked away, making sure to hide my grin.

"Stefan, Damon asked me a few days ago" I smiled at the thought of him.

"Oh blow him, he always gets all of this before me," Stefan's embarrassed expression quickly changed to a scowl.

"Well I am a lot older than you Stefan!" The Salvatore's believed I was 17. This was 3 years older than Stefan, or about 372 years older, depending on how literally you were taking it. "How about a girl your own age?"

"I don't know many though… and the one's I do know don't like me enough!"

I took a quick scan of the street, nodding slowly. There was a young girl of about 13 stood with her mother next to one of the shops. Every so often she would turn to look at us and blush lightly. Obviously Stefan did not have a good idea of who liked him. I nudged him gently and gestured towards the girl.

"Who is that?"

"Annie Fell," Stefan replied quickly, "Our fathers are friend, sort of."

"I think she likes you. Why don't you ask her to the Founder's Ball?" I grinned at him.

"How can you tell? She will probably just reject me anyway." He sighed dramatically.

"I'm a girl, I can tell." Plus I had centuries of experience of watching people look at my original vampires like that. Even as a young teenager, girls would have that expression. "Just do it?"

"But her mother is there!"

"Oh Stefan" I patted the top of his head. "Mothers are always on the lookout for good husbands for their daughters," I winked and shoved him again. Stefan, albeit reluctantly, walked over to the two women.

About 5 minutes later, Stefan had found himself a dance partner for the Celebration. At the party, Mrs Fell had commented on what a smooth talker he was. I would never have guessed.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hope you enjoyed :D **


	5. A Moonlit Dance

**Chapter 5 – A Moonlit Dance**

* * *

><p><strong>Rhea's POV<strong>

_**(September 21**__**st**__** 1861)**_

Tonight reminded me of home. When Katerina and I would dress up for the balls and the dances we were invited to back home, in the height of summer there would be one a week, or garden parties, or afternoon tea. Katerina loved to show off and she would sit and flirt with the young men, and a few of the old ones, all while smiling prettily on Father's arm. I would usually disappear into the crowds, or dance with the second, less important sons of the guests. But it was fun, Katerina and I would sit in her room, our maids buzzing around, and we would try on different dresses and hair styles until it we both looked perfect.

The same thing happened when I was with Klaus, although we didn't really have servants other than the ones that were dinner rather than just serving it. I tended to do Rebekah's hair and makeup a lot for parties, as she as she was pretty hopeless beyond the basics. I enjoyed that, but again I was only there to blend in to the shadows, to let someone else shine.

But tonight was different. I had to get myself ready. But this time it was because someone wanted me to go somewhere. I wasn't just to be a hanger on to my family, or to Klaus and Rebekah. Damon made me feel special within myself.

He made me feel alive.

It was terrifying.

He was the sort of man my mother had warned me about. He was tall, dark, devilishly handsome and charming. She warned me that men like that would take an innocent naive girl, play her for a fool and then break her heart. But I was never that girl. I knew that Damon could have any girl from Mystic falls that he wanted, and I had seen the stares that the girls in the town had given him. Yet I knew that he would never hurt me that way, I was safe with him.

Five weeks. That was all it had taken for me to fall for Damon Salvatore, whether it was love or not, I didn't know. Over 2 centuries and I had never let anyone in, but he had broken down all my walls within days. Whatever I felt for him now could easily become love, which I was sure of.

But would he still feel that way if he knew what I was. An echo of a murdered girl whose life was tied by an emotional bond to the murderer and now… it had been broken. That could only mean one thing, but would he accept that.

I glanced out of the window for what felt like the 10th time. The clouds hung low in the sky, and it threatened to rain. With any luck, the moon wouldn't put in an appearance tonight.

"Rhea?" I heard a voice and a soft knock, "Father said we must leave, they are bringing the carriage around now"

"Thank you Damon" I said, smiling and turning my gaze back to the mirror and smoothing down the skirt. After much deliberation, I had chosen a light rose coloured fabric, and it hung off the shoulders elegantly. My hair was pinned to one side to hide Klaus' bite mark. I took a deep breath and walked out of the room and down the stairs, where Damon and Stefan were waiting

"Finally," Stefan grumbled, "Women do take their time."

Damon rolled his eyes and looked at me, smirking slightly. He held out his hand to me as I stepped down the last few stairs.

"They can take all the time they need if they all come out looking this beautiful" he said. "M'lady, your carriage a-waits."

I smiled and nodded my thanks, and, grasping his hand tightly, let him lead me out into the night.

**Damon's POV**

I led Rhea into the ballroom of the Lockwood Mansion. Father had disappeared almost instantly, The founding families were dotted around the room, talking and drinking. Some were dancing in the middle of the floor and I gestured to them with my free hand.

"Shall we?"

Rhea nodded, her curls bouncing slightly and an embarrassed smile graced her lips.

"It's been awhile, I might step on your toes"

I chuckled and led her onto the dancefloor, slipping one hand around her waist and pulling her close.

"Just follow my lead" I said, and then we were off waltzing around the floor. I couldn't believe how beautiful she was. She was different from any other girl I had ever met. Not vain, or selfish, or sappy and frilly. She never put herself on a pedestal and expected to be adored and showered in presents like most girls of her age and status.

Looking around, I could see other men looking at the two of us. Their eyes burned with lust and greed and an odd feeling arose in my stomach. Is this what jealousy is? I sighed, then looked back into the dark brown eyes of the girl I held in my arms. I felt drawn to her, as if any moment we spent apart would be dull and dismal, yet when she returned she brought colour to my life.

As we danced I made myself memorize the way my hand felt, the way I could smell her perfume faintly and the brown curls that spilled over her shoulder. I span her away from me and then drew her close again, yet she stumbled slightly.

"Time for a break?" I said, steadying her. Rhea nodded.

"How long were we dancing?" she said as I led her through the giant double doors at the back of the ballroom and outside, onto the decking.

"I have no idea" I replied, having lost complete track of time inside.

"Me neither. " She said, and ran her hand along the wall, looking out to the immaculate gardens beyond. "The Lockwood's have a lovely home." I nodded, placing my hand over hers. Slowly and carefully, giving her all the time to pull away that she may need, I drew her to me. When she was close I placed on hand on her waist, feeling the silky fabric of the dress, the other I gently stroked her cheek with the back of my index finger.

She looked up at me with those big eyes, knowing what was about to happen. The tension built between us and I could feel my heart beating. I bent my head to gently press my lips to hers. She responded with the lightest of touches; a moment so fleeting that I barely registered it.

Rhea reached up and gently placed her finger against my lips.

"Stop… Don't say anything, you may ruin it" She whispered. "What this is… it can't last." I frowned and pulled back slightly.

"Rhea, I have never looked at a girl the way I look at you. Everything has changed and I want it to last… I want all of you" I replied, hoping she could see the sincerity in my eyes.

"It doesn't matter, Damon… I" But I cut her off. Cupping her face in my hands I kissed her gently. She immediately melted into me and kissed my back, I marvelled at how easily her body fit to mine. I was hyperaware of where she was, but everything else blurred past me.

I didn't even notice with the moon crept out from behind the clouds and shone over the decking and over us.

All of a sudden I couldn't feel her anymore. My fingers slipped and I stumbled forward. Rhea took a few steps back. Her expression cycled through shock, panic and pain. I noticed her dress had changed from pink to an old fashioned green, but it was torn to shreds and hung to her knees. Her feet were bare, and her once perfectly pinned hair was now hanging around her shoulders in tangles. Blood stains lined her neck.

I tried to take it all in. I didn't know whether it was witchcraft or gods work. If she was some sort of seductress from Hell or an Angel sent from Heaven.

"I'm sorry…" Rhea said, after a moment. She glanced around the decking to see if anyone else was outside, but we were alone. "Don't look at me." And then she took off, gliding rather than running, through the gardens and to the wall at the back. Once I remembered the how to make my legs function, I followed her as fast as I could. She took one glance back at me before slipping through, yes _through, _the wall.

But that wasn't possible; I was beginning to think I was hallucinating. That I would wake up at some point from this dream and find that Rhea was just a normal girl. I blamed it on the drink until I realised I had had nothing. I unlatched the gate and pursued her into the forest. It was dangerous for a girl to be alone at this time, no matter what she was.

"Please stop" I called, seeing her glow up ahead. She was afraid, it was etched upon her face. Her skin was almost white, and I could see the outlines of the trees through it as she turned and looked at me. "I must be dreaming" I said, breathing heavily.

"You aren't dreaming" Rhea replied, "I'm sorry."

"For what? That you glow in the dark?" I said, frowning slightly. She flinched.

"I'm not exactly who you think I am"

"I would say that much is obvious" I said, taking a step towards her. "Tell me."

"You won't believe me" Rhea shook her head and sighed, looking away and into the woods again. I took another step.

"Why don't you try? Trust me" She turned and looked at me full on. Her eyes filled with worry.

"My… my name is Rayna Petrova. I am the daughter of a wealthy land owner in Bulgaria and I had a sister. Katerina" Rhea said, slowly and clearly. "Katerina brought disgrace onto our family, by baring a child out of wedlock. She was then banished from the house. A year later, there were two men who came looking for revenge on something Katerina had done, it's a long story" she paused, looking slightly disgusted at the memory. "They came to my house and murdered my mother and father… and then me"

I looked at her confused, the moon fell behind the clouds again and in the shadows she returned to looking the same as at the beginning of the night.

"So you are…" I trailed off, running a hand through my hair.

"I'm dead… a ghost, just an echo tied to earth through an emotional bond with my murderer. According to the spell I cannot leave him until I meet my soulmate, as that overpowers anything else. I can only pass over and find peace once my soulmate does the same." She said it as she had been reading a book, and it just kept flowing. I just looked at her, overwhelmed. "I'm over 200 years old, give or take" she continued.

"Where is your murderer right now?" I asked her softly, if she couldn't leave her murderer, then the town could be in danger.

"He's in New Orleans, I believe" Rhea smiled, for the first time since we began this part of the conversation. "I'm free of him."

"But that means you…"

"I believe I found my soulmate." Rhea replied, looking at me dead in the eyes. "If he wishes to be mine," She held out her hand to me. I took it tenderly, she was cold, but I guess that was because she had no blood to keep her warm. I pulled her close again, vowing to myself that I would learn everything about this girl because she was special. And she was willing to be mine. I kissed her gently, and all of a sudden it became clear.

I didn't care who she was or what she was. I needed her in my life, and I needed to be able to touch her like this as much as I could. She sighed in relief and pressed her forehead against mine.

"One day I will tell you I love you" I said to her. "But we have a lot to find out about each other first."

"We have all the time in the world for that." Rhea replied and kissed me again. I smiled down at her.

"Yes, we do."

And there we were, in our happy little bubble, I was learning about her life, and her life after death. We sat in the woods, me against the tree and her in my arms until a voice cut through the atmosphere like a knife.

"Well, isn't this just lovely" came a voice through the shadows. "Rayna, Rayna, Rayna, what a pleasure it is see you again."

Rhea turned her head and looked up at the intruder.

"Klaus…"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hope you enjoyed! Let me know what you think :) **


	6. Sister, Lover, Friend and Foe

**Chapter 6 – Sister, Lover, Friend and Foe**

**Rhea's POV**

Why now?

It was all going so much better than I could even imagine it to be, sat there in Damon's arms, as he listened to me talk about my history. He never judged or looked at me with fear; he just accepted me for who I was.

Why must my life be tied to Klaus', even with the string that bonded me to him cut? I could still feel him in my blood, feel his emotions almost as real as I could feel my own. Klaus must have used that feeling to find me, and now Damon is also in danger.

Klaus walked out of the shadows and faced me. I jumped to my feet, smoothing down my skirts and checking to see if my hair was presentable. Damon did the same, brushing the dirt off his clothes.

"Maybe you are more like Katerina than you thought," Klaus said, placing a hand on my back and pulling me close to him. He kissed my cheek lightly, a display of affection for show. His eyes locked on mine, an intense stare I knew all too well. He wanted something.

"Why are you here?" I asked him softly, glancing back at Damon. He was stood, braced for a fight, with his hands clenched into fists.

"I missed you Rayna," Klaus replied, not letting go of me. "200 years with you constantly by my side and poisoning my thoughts, and then all of a sudden it just snaps?" He shook his head. "I can still feel you though," he hissed. "I could find you through this bond, and I can do it again."

"You know me completely Klaus, as I know you," I said, trying to keep my voice steady and calm. "Can you not let me go?"

"Rayna, that's why I'm here; to say a goodbye of sorts," he said, glancing over at Damon before continuing. "Although, I'm afraid your friend and I will always have a sort of bond that you will never be able to replace."

"Just say your goodbye and leave," I said firmly. Klaus let go of me and whipped behind Damon. He grabbed him and turned his head to expose his neck. My hand flew to my own neck, tracing my bite mark.

"Actually Rayna… I have more of a proposition for you," he said. Damon whimpered slightly as Klaus tapped his neck. "My intelligence stated Katerina has learnt of your existence."

"She knows I'm a ghost?"

Klaus smiled wickedly. "Yes. Well, I had an idea," he said, "Once she learns that you are still alive, of sorts, she will come to you. The bonds between siblings are strong. She will find you and you will send word to me, and I will kill her. But we are going to make it more fun." He pulled Damon's hand behind his back tightly, pulling to the point of almost breaking his arm. He dug his nails into Damon's arm, drawing blood, and then licking his fingers slowly. "You have a time limit… let's say 3 years. No time at all for immortals like us. By the summer in 3 years' time, Katerina will be there for me to kill, or I will make you suffer a much worse fate."

"You can't kill me," I said through gritted teeth. "Or torture me."

Klaus threw Damon onto the floor. "Torture doesn't always have to be physical, my dear," he said. "And you have a lovely toy here to play with." He kicked Damon with his foot. "I will leave you now, but believe me, Rayna Petrova." He grabbed my hand and placed it on his black heart. "And you know I am telling the truth in the same way that I know you, right now, are terrified. You have 3 years to give Katerina to me, and…" he stepped over Damon, who was lying on the ground, afraid for his life. Klaus took my hands in his, saying, "if your sister comes to you and you don't notify me immediately, even before your three years are up… well, I will leave that to your imagination." He kissed my cheek again. "I will see you soon, my dear." And with that, he disappeared into the shadows of the trees.

I hitched up my skirts and knelt beside Damon, taking his face in mine and brushing his hair out of his face.

"I'm sorry," I said, my voice barely more than a whisper. "I'm so sorry."

Damon pushed himself up, wincing as he leant on his arm. He tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear. "You're sorry?" Damon said. "I couldn't protect you – I could barely stand."

I shook my head. "You couldn't face Klaus anyway. He's too powerful. I have to go – get away from here. If I'm with Klaus, maybe I can stop him from doing anything…"

Damon cut me off, placing a finger against my lips. "No. We will deal with this together," he said, pressing his lips to mine gently. "Three years is a long time, and Klaus said that your sister will look for you. She could be anywhere in the country. Stay with me, and when she comes we will figure it out."

"I don't want to put you in danger. He can only hurt me through you."

Damon kissed me again. "He won't. It will be fine; you don't need to worry."

_**(May 4th 1864)**_

1864 was the worst year of my life.

Within 3 years, so much could change. Firstly, Damon had gone to war. I think he felt he had to prove something. He left me with a kiss, a promise to write as often as possible, and a wish to marry me upon his return. I had never felt this way before about anyone. We knew everything about each other; there were no secrets between us, and we still felt that rush of excitement when we snuck into each other's rooms at night.

Stefan had grown from a shy young boy into a handsome young man, and I considered him to be both a good friend and a brother. He had found out about my secret one night, when I happened to be reading in the library. After a bit of persuasion, he had accepted who I was with open arms.

Thirdly, the town's founders had grown even more suspicious over the supernatural elements in Mystic falls; they had been setting traps, and creating objects to dispose of anything non-human.

And last, but not least - Klaus' prediction had come true. Katerina had found me. She had travelled around the country once she heard of my existence, and had posed as an orphan on the Salvatore's doorstep. It had been 200 years since I had last seen her, and I fell into her arms and sobbed. Katerina, or Katherine as she was known here, was welcomed into the Salvatore house with the same open arms I had received when I first arrived in Mystic Falls. Stefan especially became close with my sister, which meant it was a while before the two of us had time to talk properly. She told me about her past, and how she tricked two vampires into changing her.

I told her about my life; how I had been killed by Klaus, and how Elijah helped me. How I had been attached to Klaus for centuries, and was still bonded to him now. All the things I had seen, and how I had met my soulmate in Damon. I ended with telling her about the threat Klaus had given me last time I saw him and my fears over what would happen if I didn't.

As I spoke, I started crying again. Katerina was always a lot stronger than I ever was. She took both my hands and clasped them tightly.

"Sister, I have just found you. I will not run again. We won't let him get close to Damon. We have two more months until the deadline and we will figure it out. Let us dry your tears and talk about happy things," she told me, and linked her arm through mine as we walked.

About a month later, Damon returned home. I could barely contain my excitement and ran to him as fast as I could, hugging him tightly and not letting go. He hugged his brother tightly, still holding onto my hand.

"And who is this lovely lady?" he asked, looking over at Katerina.

"My love, may I introduce my sister, Katherine Pierce," I replied. Damon caught my gaze with concerned eyes, and I shrugged slightly. I didn't know what we were going to do.

He took my sister's hand and kissed it gently. "It's a pleasure, Miss Pierce," he said politely.

"Pleasure is all mine, Mr Salvatore," Katerina smiled charmingly.

Damon was uncharacteristically stiff as they exchanged pleasantries, and quickly took my hand, turning away from her. "Come Rhea, let me tell you the tales of my adventures," he said, grinning and taking my arm to walk into the house, away from the ears of our respective siblings. We walked into the library and sat on the window seat, with me leaning back into his arms. "So Klaus was right," he said. "She found you."

"She's been here a month," I replied. "And we still have another month until Klaus's deadline. He may be a lot of things, but he is a man of his word."

"I hope you are right about that, my darling," Damon said. "For this is my life on the line."

"You don't have to remind me about that," I sighed, and sat up so I could face him.

Damon brushed my cheek with his thumb. "It will be okay Rhea, I promise," he murmured, leaning his forehead against mine. "We have each other – everything will be okay." He kissed me, and I felt the electricity and emotion behind it all. Every kiss with Damon felt like the first again, just without me vanishing into air.

Damon was right. For a while.

Katerina became more and more settled in the Salvatore house, and she and Stefan got on famously. He didn't know she was a vampire, and it didn't matter how much Damon and I tried to warn him against her. The threat of Klaus hovered over our heads like a nightmare, and we plotted in private a way around Klaus to no avail.

Damon asked me to marry him within a day of his return. We were on a walk in the forest, and we reached the stream we had walked past all those years ago. He pulled out a ring - his mother's engagement ring. We planned the wedding for the end of the summer.

And Katherine had fallen in love with Stefan. Whether he returned similar feelings, I didn't know, but they were happy at least.

It was late May, and the sun shone in the sky as I made my way down the stairs for lunch one afternoon. I walked into the parlour, and saw Mr Salvatore talking to Elijah. It took me by surprise. Klaus wasn't around yet, but now that his brother was here, I was sure he wasn't far behind. I froze and Elijah looked at me. His face was blank. When I remembered how my legs worked I ran to the maze where I knew Katerina, Stefan and Damon were playing ball.

"_Sister!" _ I called, in my native language, forgetting all the English I knew in my fear. "_Elijah is here! Klaus is coming. You have to run!" _Damon came and placed an arm around my waist, stroking my hair and attempting to comfort me.

"_Breath my dear," _Katerina replied. "_What's happened?" _She walked over to me and took my hands in hers.

_"Elijah is talking to Mr Salvatore. Klaus is near, I can feel him." _I said, my sister translating quietly for Damon. Katerina was calm. She was always strong in situations like this.

"Who is Klaus?" Stefan asked. The three of us looked at him. He knew I was a ghost, and from the bite marks he had oh-so-carefully tried to cover up, he knew Katerina was a vampire as well. How did he not know anything else? Damon explained quickly what had happened.

"We must go now. All of us," Stefan said. "We can keep each other safe."

"I can't ask you to do that Stefan," I said, looking at my best friend. "You would have to leave your family, your home."

"I will go with you Rhea," Damon said. Katerina looked at us both and shook her head.

"We can't. Klaus will always know where you are Rayna; he can track you as you can track him. You've led him here," she said, slight fury building up in her eyes. "I thought I could trust you."

Damon glared at her. "It's hardly her fault. She didn't ask for this."

"There is no way we all survive this. I will go, lead a trail away from here and then circle back around. Back to you," Katerina said, looking at Stefan.

"You would let me suffer through this alone?" I asked her.

"I have to survive," she replied, and vanished into the trees. With Katerina not here, I would lose Damon. Klaus wouldn't stop until my sister was dead. I could lose both of them so easily. I started shaking, feeling my love's strong arms circle me as he kissed my forehead.

"It's going to be alright Rhea," he said. "We have each other."

"Yes", I replied. "But for how long?"

* * *

><p><strong>(AN: Reviews are welcome :) Thanks for Reading!) **

**(If you like RPing, how about you check out my Forum The Convergence! It's a Multifandom RP run by myself and one of my best friends here and it's one of the top forums in the general category! Check out the link on my profile if you are interested or PM me :) **


	7. The Red Ribbon

**Chapter 7 – The Red Ribbon**

**Rhea's POV**

**_(July 18_****_th 1864)_**

I ran. It was dark and the tree branches tore at my skin and my dress.

"I don't love you…"

Those words haunted me and pounded through my head, over and over again.

"I can't love you Rhea, I'm sorry."

It was a nightmare. But I wasn't asleep, and again I was reliving it for the millionth time.

"Not with Katherine here…"

Those words. They were more painful than my actual death.

It had started when Katerina had left. Damon and I spent all our time together, wondering if the next moment Klaus would come and rip him from my arms.

When Klaus came, a week after my sister had left, Damon and I met him in the woods again.

"Katerina isn't here," I said, standing in front of Damon and meeting Klaus' steely gaze.

"Ahh, but she was, Rayna," Klaus said. "And you didn't tell me, did you? I believe I told you to tell me."

"If you thought I would betray her then you do not understand the bonds of family," I told him.

"I wonder, my dear," Klaus said, taking my hand and running his thumb over the back gently. "If Katerina would feel the same way as you." He patted my head. "My poor Rayna, you are alone in this world. In fact, I am probably the only person you have in this world. You will see; you will regret your decisions in the last 3 years, and they will burn like poison through your brain. I want you to meet someone." He waved his hand and a woman stepped forward - she was scantily clad and her hair was braided and beaded at the end. Her eyes were wide, and she bared her teeth. I flinched, holding Damon's hand for support. "This is Icici. She is particularly good at a certain type of magic," Klaus smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "I just need some blood from you." He walked over to Damon, who backed away, letting go of me. He swung at Klaus, but it did no good against the Original Vampire's strength. Klaus bit into his neck, drinking some of his blood before collecting some in a bottle and handing it to Icici. The woman started to chant, picking up a stone and smearing the blood onto it; some sort of symbol. Klaus kissed my cheek. "You see. When it comes to soul mates, one person's blood is enough to spell both of them. Imagine, if you will, that the bond between you and him is a red ribbon – a symbol of love and passion - and someone were to come along and pour black paint over the top, starting at his end and winding its way slowly towards your end. The ribbon is still there, but it's streaked with hatred instead."

"You made us hate each other?" I said, softly.

"Yes, but it will be so slow that you won't notice until it's too late," Klaus grinned. "You know not to betray me Rayna; I don't like it." He walked over to Damon and picked him up, grabbing his chin roughly and forcing their eyes to lock. Damon's pupils dilated and he went limp. I knew that look - he was being compelled into something, but the blood was pounding in my ears and I could barely hear another word that was said. Klaus eventually dropped Damon back on the ground. He pulled me into his arms and hugged me tightly. "The next few weeks are going to be painful for you. It's a shame; I do love a wedding. But you will learn." He took the chanting woman and they both disappeared.

The worst part was that it was agonizingly slow. It started with Damon acting oddly, preferring to spend his time with Stefan over me. Then someone would come to me with a wedding suggestion and I would just blow it off. Katherine returned soon after and something changed. She and Damon were a lot closer now. The last straw was me catching Damon walking out of her room, before I confronted him.

"I don't love you… I can't love you… not with Katherine here." Those words hit me like a knife in my stomach. I didn't move. Damon didn't try to touch me, didn't try to comfort me. "I'm sorry Rhea…" he said, as if that made a difference.

And then it clicked in my head. The Damon I knew would never have loved my sister, and would never act upon anything that could hurt Stefan.

"I need to leave," I said.

"I know you do," Damon replied with a nod.

I took my engagement ring off my finger and dropped it on the floor, staring at Damon for a seconds, before running as fast as I could out of the house. My possessions were few, and besides, Katerina could have anything she wanted of mine.

I saw Katerina as I ran through the grounds. She knew. She smiled at me, but I could see it in her eyes; she knew exactly what she was doing. I was always going to lead Klaus to her, and if lying with my fiancée was the way to get me out of the way, so she could have both Stefan and Damon and her life, she would betray me anyway.

She reached out to me to stop me.

"Let me go Katerina" I said, gritting my teeth.

"You can go if you wish," she reminded me, "You are a ghost after all." I changed then, into my true translucent form. "Can you not handle the competition?" she asked, smiling innocently.

"This isn't competition. I can't handle being around him," I replied.

"Do you remember, Rayna, when we were little? I always told you I would put brother against brother, and now I can do it for all eternity." She laughed.

"Don't touch Stefan." Poor, sweet, innocent Stefan.

"It's too late to stop now," Katerina said, wrapping her arms around me as much as she could. "He is already in love with me!" I can't handle this. I can't watch. "Goodbye, sweet sister." She took a step back.

So I ran.

It had been hours before Elijah found me in the woods. He explained that Klaus had known that I was running and was nearby. He held me tightly but, for once, I was not going to cry.

My sister betrayed me, my soulmate hated me, and my best friend was now roped up in the mess. I would not cry over this.

I stood up and walked with Elijah to Klaus and the carriage. There was no point in crying this time. I needed to be strong. I looked at Klaus - he was my murderer, and he had caused this to happen. But he had never lied to me.

I was going to have my revenge against my sister, against Damon, and against Klaus one day. The one thing that had caused me to be in this mess was my innocence and naivety.

They weren't going to hold me back anymore.


	8. Back to Business

**A/N Another Chapter so soon! This has to be a record for me! Enjoy and review :) Oh, and remember this is an AU, so the events of the series don't take place... well some of them do, but I haven't decided which ones yet, that will be revealed in the next chapter, hopefully**

**10th August 2010**

I had run my whole after life. And I was so tired of running now. That was me, just sat at a rundown bar, ordering myself a drink. I had no money. I knew that one of the local boys would probably pay for me.

That was what I was counting on. Certainly what I was dressed for. Crop top, miniskirt and bed hair. All screaming out that I wanted sex. I wanted to use someone and then I wanted to leave like I was just a dream. They didn't need to know my name, age, background, and I sure as hell didn't give a damn about theirs.

The barman delivered my drink as some boy walked up to me, handing over the money and saying some awful pick up lines. I knocked back the drink and sighed to myself.

"Happy 528th Birthday." I murmured and turned to the boy, continuing my useless afterlife full of drink, sex and running.

I preferred the big cities. Not only did they never sleep, but there was enough light pollution to prevent the moonlight touching my skin. It was also a better hiding place. No one cared enough about one specific person to wonder about their background, unless they were checking for STD's.

The only friend in the world I had was Stefan Salvatore. Some friend he was too.

After I left, he wrote to me once a month to let me know of any developments. He told me that, although Klaus had not been back to Mystic Falls, Katherine was dead due to the Council. That both he and Damon had also been killed but Katherine had left them pumped full of her blood so they awoke again in transition. He had told me he loved me then, and said good bye, for he didn't plan on completing the change.

Then nothing for 20 years, when I saw him in downtown Los Angeles. At first I was shocked, then relived and hugged him, then angry and slapped him across the cheek.

He told me the rest of the story then. How he had drank from his father and forced Damon too. How Damon hated him, and was trying to make life a living hell for the both of them. How he was still in love with Katherine, even though my sister was dead.

Stefan and I met every few years or so after that. I stayed with him during his 'ripper' phase, only leaving when he met Klaus and Rebekah for the first time. I tried to dissuade him, but until they left him, I kept my distance.

According to the latest letter from him, a few months ago, Stefan had moved back to Mystic Falls. But there was plenty he wasn't telling me. He usually never left gaps in his activities, and he was vague about topics such as Damon, or some young girl named Elena.

I was going to meet him in a few hours. Maybe then he would explain what was going on.

It was the middle of the night as I walked across down the street and across the road, looking in my compact and fixing my hair and lip gloss. A car came rushing down the road, speeding in the dark. I stood still in the road and looked at the oncoming car. The Car swerved crashing into a tree, and flames erupted from the engine. It hadn't even touched me. Humans were so easy.

With a smile, I turned away and continued walking down the road, vanishing into my transparent form as I did so. Just drifting away on the wind.

By morning I had entered Lynchburg and was heading to the café on the corner of the high street.

There he was. He smiled at me.

"Rhea!" he called as I walked over to me. "Really?" he looked me up and down. I hugged him, slapping the back of his head as I did so.

"Shut up Stefan!" Stefan grinned, took my hand and we walked into the coffee shop. "How long has it been? 4, 5 years?"

"More like 7." He said.

"Well. It is easy to lose count when you are immortal." Yet I always knew how old I was, I never remembered when I saw Stefan last. I grinned up at him. "So, what's new?"

"Nothing, really, Elena and I broke up, kinda"

"Aw that's a shame." I meant it too. I could see in his eyes that he loved her, it was the same look I used to give Damon.

He nodded.

"You should come to Mystic Falls sometime; we have a whole collection of supernatural creatures there. A living ghost would complete the collection." There was no enthusiasm in his voice. Like he didn't want me to go there, but was too polite to say anything.

"Maybe one day."

The visit ended pretty much the same way as it always did. Him kissing me on the cheek and promising that we would meet again within a decade.

He was hiding something from me, I knew him too well. Something major.

So I did the only thing I could.

If he wouldn't tell me, I would find out for myself. I followed him. Back to Mystic Falls.

**13****th**** August 2010**

I hadn't ever been back to the town. I couldn't. This was the worst and best place I had ever been, all for the same reason. Damon.

And Klaus too, but mainly Damon.

I was hit by the energy almost straight away. So many supernatural people in one place, I could _feel _it. No one could see me; I was in my natural form and invisible to the normal human eye.

Walking down the high street, people walking past me and through me. In the centre of the town, I saw the Mystic Grill. Seemed like a bar, I wondered if they knew where the Salvatore's lived now. This town was confusing now a day.

Shimmering back into reality and smoothing down my skirt, I walked into the Mystic Grill and sat at the bar. It was dark in there, kind of cosy lighting rather than the harsh smoke filled rooms I was used to. There were a few people there, huddled around tables, as if they all knew something. Something hiding in the shadows that were to never be addressed.

This town hadn't changed so much after all.

I sat down at the bar, crossing my legs, and pulling my skirt up slightly. I rested my arm on the bar, waiting for the bartender to come and take my order. He did, quickly, a sandy blonde haired guy, with blue eyes, probably the head of the football team as well by the looks of him.

"What can I get you?" he said, with a smile that was probably meant to be charming.

"Vodka and Coke, and some directions?" I grinned back at him, batting my eyelashes.

"Coming right up. Where are you headed?" he said as he began pouring out the drink.

"The Salvatore Place." I replied. He set the drink down on the table, his expression changed. He went colder.

"What do you want up there?" He said.

"I am an old friend of the family." He nodded.

"I'm Matt, Matt Donavon. I was headed there after my shift; I guess I could drive you if you stick around a couple of hours."

I nodded.

"Sure."

So for the next couple of hours, and being cut off from the vodka, it was actually quite fun. Although he was guarded, he treated me with respect, and that was always nice. After the shift finished, another lad walked in, couldn't have been older than 16. He took one look at me, and his eyes turned to saucers.

"Halloween isn't for another couple of months you know"

"Jeremy, don't be rude." Matt said, Jeremy looked at him.

"I'm not, well… Okay, why are you wearing that then?" He looked at me, puzzled.

"I always where something like this." I frowned at him.

"A ripped dress, with… is that blood all over it?"

"Jeremy she isn't even wearing a dress dude…" Matt looked at him confused.

"Well, thanks for your time boys. Lovely meeting you, I really should be going now. Good bye." I stood up and walked out of the door, as fast as I could, breaking into a run the minute I got outside.

I asked for directions from someone on the street. They pointed me in the right direction, and then I was running again, trying to get Stefan as fast as I possibly could.

This town scared me.

I hadn't been scared in over 146 years.

When I got to the house, the Salvatore boarding house, I banged on the door for all I was worth.

Stefan answered, his eyes wide.

"Rhea? What the hell are you doing here?" I just fell into his arms. I had never been this undone. Always managing to keep it together. But a human had seen me. The real me. The me that only my ex-lover and my sister had seen. Not even Stefan had seen. Yet that human had.

I tried to explain to him the best I could about what had happened. But he just picked me up and carried me into the house. Sitting me down on one of the chairs, he looked at me.

"You shouldn't have come here." He said.

"You were hiding something from me."

"Not the point. You need to trust me." He took my hand. "Rhea there is a lot more going on here than meets the eye. Go and get a shower, cool off. Elena left some clothes here, they should fit you. Then I'll explain."

I nodded and Stefan showed me where everything was. It was quite a nice house. Gothic and ancient, and built with the same design as the old place. Stefan showed me a room, my room. He said he designed it in the way my old one was. I didn't know whether to be happy or sad or anything, so I just quiet, letting Stefan talk.

He left me a few minutes afterwards; I stripped off my clothes, looking in the mirror. The bite mark on my neck and the scratches along my collar bone stood out against my pale skin. I dug into them with my hand, but felt nothing. Of course, I was dead after all.

Getting into the shower, I turned up the water to the highest setting, letting the scalding water run through my hair and down my body. But I couldn't feel it, well I knew it was hot, but there was no pain. Just an echo of the feeling.

I washed my hair, out of habit more than anything. I turned off the shower and reached for a towel, wrapping it around me as I walked towards my own room, grabbing another to wrap around my hair.

Stefan, in his kindness, had grabbed some clothes and laid them out on the bed for me. They weren't bad; maybe this Elena girl actually had some taste. I pulled them on, once again looking at myself in the mirror. The tank top left a lot shown, and you could see the mark on my neck clearly. I still wasn't comfortable with it on show, but I guess there was nothing I could do about it.

I walked down the stairs, drying my hair with the towel.

"Stefan?" I called, "Do you have a hair dryer or something?" He didn't answer. I walked into the living room. "Stef….oh."

There was someone in there. Someone who wasn't Stefan. Someone who wasn't even a guy.

"Katerina." I whispered. Then I saw red.

I ran over to her, and gripped her arm, plunging my own ghost arm into her chest reaching for her heart. She started coughing, and went incredibly pale. I smiled.

Finally I will get my revenge on my sister.

**A/N - REVIEW PLEASE :D **


	9. Changing Identity

**A/N Super long chapter for you guys! Enjoy! **

* * *

><p><strong>Rhea's POV<strong>

Killing my sister was supposed to feel good. It was finally getting my revenge on all these years. Everything I went through was because of her. She started all.

I twisted my hand. It wasn't like I hadn't killed before. 500 years, and you do manage to do a lot. To save a girl I reached into the murderer's chest and pulled out their heart. It was quick and easy. But this needed to be slow and painful. She deserved it.

There were footsteps behind me and a horrified gasp, but I didn't hear them.

"Rhea?" Stefan said calmly, "Stop. It isn't what you think."

I didn't reply. How dare he stop me from accomplishing the only goal I had?

"Oh for God's sake Stefan, grab the ghost and I'll grab Elena." I froze. That voice. I hadn't heard it for over 200 years.

Damon.

"She isn't solid" Stefan hissed back, "I don't even know how she is doing that." But they attempted to pull us apart, gently, anyway. I didn't move and just let them do what they were doing. I was far too in shock for them to move. Stefan but down on his wrist and fed the blood to Elena. "I'm going to take her upstairs." He picked her up gently. "Play nice."

My arm was dripping with blood and I had reverted to my original form. Damon circled me.

"Long time no see." He said with a raised eyebrow, his eyes were cold. Well, of course, what did I expect?

"Hmm, yeah, after you screwed me over, I guess I didn't want to stick around."

"No hard feelings Rayna."

"My name is Rhea."

"Potato, Potahto." He looked me straight in the eye. "You haven't changed a bit."

"You have." I looked straight back at him. Trying to look more confident, when inside I was shaking like a leaf.

"Do you realise how worried we were? You left in the dark. No one had any idea where you were. You just vanished."

"Katerina and Stefan knew I left."

"Yeah and they weren't exactly telling."

"Well, that's all over now."

He nodded and we were silent for a few minutes, trying to stare the other person down. Damon was intimidating, but one thing about being dead meant that not much scared you after the first few years. Nothing can hurt you, exterminate you or anything. Well, apart from witches, and that was just nasty and a need to know bases. It meant that I wasn't easily intimidated, and even though he was one of the only people who truly scared me, there was no way in hell that I was going to let him see that.

Stefan came back into the room.

"She is going to be fine."

Damon and I both shrugged at him. Well, I guess that was one thing we still had in common, neither of us give a damn who lives and who dies.

"Go and get cleaned up Rhea. We need to talk."

I nodded and walked up the stairs. Pausing, I heard them talking.

"Are you out of you bloody mind, Stefan?" Damon glared at him. "Of all the people in the world, Rhea Pierce?"

"She knows Klaus and the other Originals better than any of us, she could help…"

"We talked about this. No Ghosts. No living Ghosts. And especially not her!"

"I didn't exactly invite her here. She came herself. You know I can't lie to her." Stefan was calm, completely calm. It was his way of coping with the situation after all. Damon on the other hand sounded furious.

"Send her away."

"She can help."

"I don't care, we don't need her."

"Do you have any other ideas? Because I am pretty much out of them. We need fresh blood."

"She doesn't have any blood, she is a ghost remember."

"Very funny."

I ran up the rest of the stairs then, rinsing the blood off my hand and changing my clothes again. I didn't know what to do. My whole body was telling me to run as fast as I could, and there was nothing I would want more than that. However I knew that if I did, I would never get to the end of it. It was just a feeling.

I looked in the mirror, and I promised myself, that I would stay here until the Conference of the Living Dead. That was all the Living Ghosts in the world had to go once every decade and welcome the new ghosts, say goodbye to those moving on to the next world, all of that. It was in December this year. I had 4 months to see this through. After that I can run again.

I took a deep, unnecessary breath and walked back out of the room and down the stairs. Stefan was sat in one of the chairs, and Damon was leant against the bookcase. He wasn't happy.

"Hey" Stefan said, "Want a drink?" I nodded, and he poured me some whiskey, handing me the glass. "I never did get how you managed to eat or drink, isn't everything frozen."

Well, he didn't seem mad at me.

"We don't know either. I don't know where it goes. Just vanishes I guess. Something to do with the magic of how we are who we are." I shrugged and sat down on the sofa.

"Freak." Damon muttered. That one stung, he used to be the person who accepted me completely.

Stefan ignored him.

"Right. We need to talk Rhea."

I nodded.

"That girl was Elena, she is your great, great, great, etcetera, niece." He said. "She is the Petrova Doppelganger. Damon and I came here last year. Klaus is out to use Elena to make more hybrids. You know he talked about the sun and the mood curse?" I nodded again. "Well, it was a curse on him and he broke it, he is the first werewolf-Vampire hybrid, and he made more. Katherine we thought was locked up in a tomb. Well, she wasn't, and after turning Elena's friend Caroline into a vampire, buggered off and we have no idea where she is now. Have I missed anything?" He looked over at Damon.

"Elena's brother, the waste of space, can see Ghosts. And him and Alaric have these rings that make sure they cannot die. Oh, and you can go get lost now dead girl, we don't need you."

"Well, you have been busy." I said, not sure of what else to do.

"That's an understatement." Damon snorted. "We have got this far without you."

I shrugged.

"I could leave…?"

"Nope. Both of you. Shut up." Stefan sighed "Damon, Rhea is staying here. She could be of some use."

"Yes. She doesn't need sleep; she can clean the house overnight." Damon snorted

"You can shove the duster up your…"

"Shut up! Honestly. You two are going to get along, or I will lock you both in the cell underneath. Understand? Now, I am going to check on Elena, be nice." He got up and left the room.

"Why did you come here?"

"Haven't I said this already? Stefan was hiding something from me."

"So you decided to stick your zombiefied nose in where it doesn't belong?"

"Hey! At least I know that I am actually dead, unlike you bloodsucker."

"At least I don't have a rotting corpse lying somewhere in Bulgaria."

"At least I don't have to worry about being burnt to cinders by the sun."

"Nope, you just have to worry about looking like something from a haunted house every time it gets dark."

"SHUT UP!" Stefan shouted as he came back in the room and sighed. "I leave you alone for two seconds…"

"I don't know what you are complaining about, or have you forgotten that your dead best friend just attempted to kill your human girlfriend." Damon poured himself a drink and shot Stefan a smirk.

"Well, I didn't know it was her!" I rolled my eyes, sitting down on the couch. "She looks a hell of a lot like my sister, it is messed up."

"You're telling me. Elena and Katherine are two different people, remember that." Stefan looked at me pointedly.

"Whatever Stefan, you know I don't give a damn about anyone who is my own gender. This includes your girlfriend! Sorry." I responded with a shrug.

"Yeah I know."

Damon left the room then; I don't think he knew what had happened, what Klaus had done to him. I was sure that Stefan wouldn't have told him. For the rest of the night, he told me what had happened here. About Elena, and how he had to know her because of how much she looked like Katherine. About how he and Damon had somewhat reconciled after they discovered all of what Katherine had done, and about how Klaus was trying to disrupt all that.

* * *

><p><strong>Damon's POV<strong>

Love is a strange thing. It is the root of all evil and happiness. If we didn't love, there would be no problem in this world. If I had never fallen in love with Rhea, or Katherine. If Stefan had never been in love with Katherine, and now Elena. If Rebekah had never fallen in love with Stefan. If Klaus had never loved the power that the hybrids allowed him.

Where would we be without love? It would make life a lot easier, but then what would we have to live for?

When I was a child, I lived for my family. When I grew up, I lived for Rhea. For the next few centuries I lived for Katherine. Now? I guess I was looking for the next person I would live for. That in-between stage that felt like hell.

Seeing Rhea again, was unexpected, yet terrible surprise. Actually, I had no idea how I felt about it. My first reaction was to hate her, and apparently that was her reaction too. I had no idea about how that worked. But I guess it just happened. And that's life.

200 years is a long time to hold a grudge.

Everything was fine here. I figured out my true feelings for Katherine when I saw her again. I was so convinced I still loved her, I didn't notice when my feelings vanished. Same with Rhea I guess.

I had walked out of the room as I was thinking, walking out of the door and looking up at the stars. The moon was the same as the night of our first kiss, when I discovered she was dead. It was cloudy and about to rain, but you could still see the moon shine through the clouds and cast shadows in the courtyard.

Stefan followed me out, placing his hand on my shoulder.

"Are you okay?" He asked me.

"Why shouldn't I be, it isn't like my dead ex-fiancée just walked through the door!" I replied sarcastically and scowled at him, shoving him off me.

"Damon, she will be able to help. She knows Klaus; she is friends with Elijah…"

"Friends with benefits you mean." Stefan raised an eyebrow. "Oh come off it brother, you didn't expect her to wait 300 years before she met me did you?" I rolled my eyes at him.

"Yeah, but Elijah? Really? I thought she had more taste." He looked me up and down "Then again..."

"Shut up Stefan. I get it, she may be of use. But that doesn't mean Rhea has to even make eye contact with me. Understand?"

He nodded.

"Thank you." Then he went inside, back to the ghost girl.

That bitch ruined everything. Just because she was beautiful and knew how to use it. She was manipulative, and played everyone like a little puppet master. No wonder she had only two 'real' friends in the world. Stefan, who was too weak to see her for whom she was, and Elijah, who had her eating out the palm of her hand.

For God's sake. Why on earth did I care so much? Rhea meant nothing to me. Absolutely nothing.

If only that where true.

There was a rustle in the trees across the courtyard.

"Speak of the Devil, and he shall appear" I muttered.

"Hello Damon." Elijah smirked. "I saw a girl in the Mystic Grill this morning. She looked like a close friend of ours."

"Rhea's inside." I glared at him. "And you are not welcome. Not after that stunt you pulled with Klaus."

He merely shrugged.

"Family is important. You should know that. I know that you would do anything for Stefan."

"What do you want with Rhea?"

"I haven't seen one of my best friends since that little altercation with Katherine, Stefan and you. You know. You dumped her in the middle of the woods." I growled. "Touchy subject I see." Elijah laughed slightly. "You know Damon; I was there to pick up the pieces. We met about a year afterwards in Texas. She is a very good cowgirl" he smirked again and winked. "But of course you knew that already."

"Get out of here Elijah."

"Gladly, just pass the message along to Rayna. Tell her I want to catch up sometime." Then he was gone, leaving me fuming.

There was no way in hell I would ever pass that message along. I hated Rhea with every fibre of my being. But he was worse.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Leave me a review? Ya know you want to :D <strong>


	10. AUTHOR'S NOTE

**A/N**

**Hey again! Thanks for reading! 7/9 chapters have been rewritten! Thank you so much for reading, it means a lot :) **

**Lena xxx**

**Also if you are a fan of TVD, make sure you check out my forum, The Convergence! It's a Roleplay forum that's Multifandom and it's ace, PM me or check out the link on my profile if you are interested! **


End file.
